Water Quality Legend

Current Status

Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

Historical Status

When swimming season is over or when a beach's water quality data has not been updated frequently enough (weekly) it goes into historical status. This means that rather than displaying current data it displays the beach's average water quality for that year.

Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

Special Status

We may manually set the status for a specific beach if we have concerns about the sampling protocol, if there is an emergency, if monitoring practices don't exist or have recently changed, or other reasons that render this site "special."

Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.

See the beach description for more information regarding their special status.

Pinawa Beach

Pinawa Beach is located on the northern end of Whiteshell Provincial Park along the Winnipeg River. The Winnepeg River and Pinawa Channel provide boating, sailing, kayaking, caoeing, and fishing. The town of Pinowa also offers a variety of snow mobiling, cross country skiing and hiking trails. The area has mixed forests, granite ridges and beaver dams.

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WATER QUALITY

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time

Historical Status

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on . North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, in conjunction with Manitoba Health, has developed the Clean Beaches Program to provide valuable information to the public on how to protect Manitoba’s beautiful beaches and reduce the risk of illness to bathers.

There are 60 beaches across Manitoba that are routinely monitored each season for E. coli and the presence of algae and the algal toxin microcystin. Beaches that exceed Manitoba’s recreational water quality objectives are posted with advisory signs at the beach and on Manitoba’s beach website at: Manitoba.ca/beaches.

Water quality samples are routinely collected during the summer months. Monitoring typically begins in June and continues at most beaches until the end of August. Frequency of sampling is determined based on recreational intensity, historic bacteria data, or in support of special projects. Swim Guide checks daily from Monday - Friday for E. coli and algae advisories.

Website: Manitoba.ca/beaches

E. coli
In general, if the geometric mean of E. coli samples exceeds Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL and/or when a single sample contains more than 400 bacteria/100 mL the beach is re-sampled.

A beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is below Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is above Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey when reliable or up-to-date information is not available.

Algal Blooms
Manitoba’s Clean Beaches Program routinely monitors about 60 beaches across the province for the presence of algal blooms. Algae samples are also collected from other waterbodies in response to calls from members of the public, regional staff and other partners. Algae samples are only collected when an algal bloom is present. Manitoba monitors algae for the density and species of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) present, as well as the concentration of algal toxin microcystin.

Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective for total cyanobacteria cell counts is 100,000 cells per mL. Below 100,000 cells per mL recreational activities are considered safe. Above 100,000 cells per mL a first level algal advisory sign is posted that cautions bathers to avoid swimming or other contact with the water when blooms are present. Once an algal bloom has been observed at a given beach, this sign remains posted for the remainder of the beach season.

Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective for the algal toxin microcystin is 20 µg/L. Although not all algae produce toxins, some species of cyanobacteria produce algal toxins that can be harmful to the liver or nervous system if large amounts of water are swallowed. When microcystin concentrations exceed 20 µg/L a second level algal toxin advisory sign is posted that indicates swimming, drinking or any contact with the water is not recommended. The second level algal toxin advisory sign remains posted until the concentration of microcystin returns below 20 µg/L

In the absence of a severe algal bloom, recreational activities are considered safe. However, if large amounts of green scum, indicating an algal bloom, is present, it is advisable to:
Avoid swimming or other contact with the water;
Do not drink the water – boiling or chlorination will not make the water safe;
Prevent pets and livestock from drinking along the shoreline;
Do not eat fish from the lake that appear unhealthy.

Swimmer’s Itch
The swimmer's itch parasite is naturally found in many Manitoba lakes. It causes a temporary skin irritation or rash in swimmers who come in contact with the parasite. As water droplets evaporate from the skin, the tiny parasitic larvae enters a swimmer's pores and dies, leaving an itchy elevated red spot that may last from four to fourteen days. The allergic reaction to swimmer's itch can be extremely annoying but it is not dangerous and will not spread. However, scratching the itch could cause infection.

You can find out if swimmers itch has been confirmed at a beach by following the link to this website: http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/quality/swimmers_itch.html

Source: Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, Water Quality and Management Section, 2014: Manitoba.ca/beaches

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

CHART TYPE

Pie Bar

INTERVAL

TIME PERIOD

Pinawa Beach

This status is based on the latest sample, taken on . North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

1°C

Clear

Pinawa Beach is located on the northern end of Whiteshell Provincial Park along the Winnipeg River. The Winnepeg River and Pinawa Channel provide boating, sailing, kayaking, caoeing, and fishing. The town of Pinowa also offers a variety of snow mobiling, cross country skiing and hiking trails. The area has mixed forests, granite ridges and beaver dams.

Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, in conjunction with Manitoba Health, has developed the Clean Beaches Program to provide valuable information to the public on how to protect Manitoba’s beautiful beaches and reduce the risk of illness to bathers.

There are 60 beaches across Manitoba that are routinely monitored each season for E. coli and the presence of algae and the algal toxin microcystin. Beaches that exceed Manitoba’s recreational water quality objectives are posted with advisory signs at the beach and on Manitoba’s beach website at: Manitoba.ca/beaches.

Water quality samples are routinely collected during the summer months. Monitoring typically begins in June and continues at most beaches until the end of August. Frequency of sampling is determined based on recreational intensity, historic bacteria data, or in support of special projects. Swim Guide checks daily from Monday - Friday for E. coli and algae advisories.

Website: Manitoba.ca/beaches

E. coli
In general, if the geometric mean of E. coli samples exceeds Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL and/or when a single sample contains more than 400 bacteria/100 mL the beach is re-sampled.

A beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is below Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean of E. coli samples is above Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective of 200 bacteria/100 mL.

A beach is marked Grey when reliable or up-to-date information is not available.

Algal Blooms
Manitoba’s Clean Beaches Program routinely monitors about 60 beaches across the province for the presence of algal blooms. Algae samples are also collected from other waterbodies in response to calls from members of the public, regional staff and other partners. Algae samples are only collected when an algal bloom is present. Manitoba monitors algae for the density and species of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) present, as well as the concentration of algal toxin microcystin.

Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective for total cyanobacteria cell counts is 100,000 cells per mL. Below 100,000 cells per mL recreational activities are considered safe. Above 100,000 cells per mL a first level algal advisory sign is posted that cautions bathers to avoid swimming or other contact with the water when blooms are present. Once an algal bloom has been observed at a given beach, this sign remains posted for the remainder of the beach season.

Manitoba’s recreational water quality objective for the algal toxin microcystin is 20 µg/L. Although not all algae produce toxins, some species of cyanobacteria produce algal toxins that can be harmful to the liver or nervous system if large amounts of water are swallowed. When microcystin concentrations exceed 20 µg/L a second level algal toxin advisory sign is posted that indicates swimming, drinking or any contact with the water is not recommended. The second level algal toxin advisory sign remains posted until the concentration of microcystin returns below 20 µg/L

In the absence of a severe algal bloom, recreational activities are considered safe. However, if large amounts of green scum, indicating an algal bloom, is present, it is advisable to:
Avoid swimming or other contact with the water;
Do not drink the water – boiling or chlorination will not make the water safe;
Prevent pets and livestock from drinking along the shoreline;
Do not eat fish from the lake that appear unhealthy.

Swimmer’s Itch
The swimmer's itch parasite is naturally found in many Manitoba lakes. It causes a temporary skin irritation or rash in swimmers who come in contact with the parasite. As water droplets evaporate from the skin, the tiny parasitic larvae enters a swimmer's pores and dies, leaving an itchy elevated red spot that may last from four to fourteen days. The allergic reaction to swimmer's itch can be extremely annoying but it is not dangerous and will not spread. However, scratching the itch could cause infection.

You can find out if swimmers itch has been confirmed at a beach by following the link to this website: http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/quality/swimmers_itch.html

Source: Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship, Water Quality and Management Section, 2014: Manitoba.ca/beaches